Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor (born 28 January 1948) is a Liberian politician who was the 22nd President of Liberia, serving from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003.^[1]

Born in Arthington, Montserrado County, Liberia, Taylor earned a degree at Bentley College in the United States before returning to Liberia to work in the government of Samuel Doe. After being removed for embezzlement, he eventually arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerilla fighter. He returned to Liberia in 1989 as the head of a Libyan-backed resistance group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to overthrow the Doe regime, initiating the First Liberian Civil War. Following Doe's execution, he gained control of a large portion of the country and became one of the most prominent warlords in Africa.^[2] Following a peace deal that ended the war, Taylor coerced the population into electing him president in the 1997 general election.^[3]

During his term of office, Taylor was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Domestically, opposition to his regime grew, culminating in the outbreak of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999. By 2003, he had lost control of much of the countryside and was formally indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. That year, he resigned as a result of growing international pressure and went into exile in Nigeria. In 2006, the newly elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf formally requested his extradition, after which he was detained by UN authorities in Sierra Leone and then at the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden in The Hague, awaiting trial.^[4] He was found guilty in April 2012 of all eleven charges levied by the Special Court, including terror, murder and rape.^[5]

Early life[link]

Charles McArthur Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948 to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He took the name 'Ghankay' later on, possibly to please and gain favor with the indigenous people.^[6] His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group. According to most reports, his father worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer and judge^[7] and was an Americo-Liberian.

Government, imprisonment and escape[link]

Taylor supported the 12 April 1980 coup led by Samuel Doe, which saw the murder of President William R. Tolbert, Jr. and seizure of power by Doe. Taylor was appointed to a high position in Doe’s government in the General Services Agency of Liberia, a position that left him in charge of purchasing for the Liberian government. However, he was sacked in May 1983 for embezzling almost $1,000,000 and sending the funds to an American bank account.

Taylor fled to the United States but was arrested on 24 May 1984 by two US Deputy Marshals in Somerville, Massachusetts, on a warrant for extradition to face charges of embezzling $922,000 of government funds intended for machinery parts. Citing a fear of assassination by Liberian agents, Taylor sought to fight extradition from the safety of jail with the help of his attorney, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He was detained in a House of Corrections in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

On 15 September 1985, Taylor and four other inmates allegedly escaped from the Plymouth facility, a minimum security prison, by sawing through a bar covering a window in an unused laundry room. After dropping 12 feet to the ground by means of a knotted sheet, the five inmates climbed a fence. Shortly thereafter, Taylor and two other escapees were met at nearby Jordan Hospital by Taylor's wife, Enid, and Taylor's sister-in-law, Lucia Holmes Toweh. A getaway car was driven to Staten Island, where Taylor then disappeared. All four of Taylor's fellow escapees, as well as Enid and Toweh, were later apprehended.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2009, Mr Taylor himself told at his trial, at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Hague, that US CIA agents had helped him escape from the maximum[minimum?] security prison in Boston in 1985. The US Defence Intelligence Agency did confirm that Mr Taylor first started working with US intelligence in the 1980s but refused to give details on exactly what role Mr Taylor played, citing national security.^[8]

Civil war[link]

Taylor managed to flee the United States and shortly thereafter it is assumed that he went to Libya, where he underwent guerrilla training under Muammar Gaddafi, becoming Gaddafi's protégé.^[9] Eventually, he left Libya and traveled to Côte d'Ivoire, where he founded the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

In December 1989, Taylor launched a Libyan-funded armed uprising from Côte d'Ivoire into Liberia to overthrow the Doe regime, leading to the First Liberian Civil War.^[10] By 1990, his forces soon controlled most of the country. That same year, Prince Johnson, a senior commander of Taylor's NPFL, broke away and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). In September 1990, Johnson captured Monrovia, depriving Taylor of outright victory. Doe was captured and tortured to death by Johnson and his forces, resulting in a violent political fragmentation of the country. The civil war turned into an ethnic conflict, with seven factions fighting for control of Liberia's resources (especially iron ore, diamonds, timber, and rubber).

According to a 2 June 1999, article in The Virginian-Pilot,^[11] Taylor had extensive business dealings with American televangelist Pat Robertson during the civil war. According to the article, Taylor gave Robertson the rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia's mineral-rich countryside. According to two Operation Blessing pilots who reported this incident to the Commonwealth of Virginia for investigation in 1994, Robertson used his Operation Blessing planes to haul diamond-mining equipment to his new mines in Liberia, despite the fact that Robertson was telling his 700 Club viewers that the planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. The subsequent investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia concluded that Robertson diverted his ministry's donations to the Liberian diamond-mining operation, but Attorney General of Virginia Mark Earley blocked any potential prosecution against Robertson, as the relief supplies were also sent.^[12]

Presidency[link]

After the official end of the civil war in 1996, Taylor ran for president in the 1997 general election. He famously campaigned on the slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him."^[13] The elections were overseen by the United Nations' peacekeeping mission, United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, along with a contingent from the Economic Community of West African States.^[14] Taylor won the election in a landslide, garnering 75 percent of the vote. Taylor's toughest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, collected only 10 percent of the vote. Taylor's victory has been widely attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost.^{[citation needed]}

During his time in office, Taylor ran down the Armed Forces of Liberia, dismissing 2,400–2,600 former personnel, many of whom were ethnic Krahn brought in by former President Doe.^[15] In its place, he installed the Anti-Terrorist Unit, the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police (LNP), which he used as his own private army.

Numerous allegations were leveled at Taylor during his presidency, particularly regarding his involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War. He was accused of aiding the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) through weapon sales in exchange for blood diamonds. Due to a UN embargo against arms sales to Liberia at the time, these weapons were largely purchased on the black market through arms smugglers such as Viktor Bout.^[16] Furthermore, he was charged with aiding and abetting RUF atrocities against civilians that left many thousands dead or mutilated, with unknown numbers of people abducted and tortured. Moreover, he was accused of assisting the RUF in the recruitment of child soldiers. In addition to aiding the RUF in these acts, Taylor reportedly personally directed RUF operations in Sierra Leone.^[17]

Taylor obtained spiritual and other advice from the evangelist Kilari Anand Paul.^[18] As president, he was known for his flamboyant style.^[19] Upon being charged by the UN of being a gunrunner and diamond smuggler during his presidency, he publicly appeared in all white robes and begged God for forgiveness, while at the same time denying the charges.^[19] He was also reported to have said that “Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time.”^[19]

Rebellion and indictment[link]

In 1999, a rebellion against Taylor began in northern Liberia, led by a group calling itself Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). This group was frequently accused of atrocities, and is thought to have been backed by the government of neighboring Guinea.^[20] This uprising signaled the beginning of the Second Liberian Civil War.

By early 2003, LURD had gained control of northern Liberia. That year, a second Ivorian-backed rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), emerged in southern Liberia and achieved rapid successes.^[21] By the summer, Taylor's government controlled only about a third of Liberia: Monrovia and the central part of the country.

On 7 March 2003, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) issued a sealed indictment for Taylor.^[22] Earlier that year, Liberian forces had killed Sam Bockarie, a leading member of the RUF in Sierra Leone, in a shootout under Taylor's orders. Some have claimed that Taylor ordered Bockarie killed in order to prevent Bockarie from testifying against him at the SCSL.^[23]

In June 2003, the Prosecutor to the Special Court unsealed the indictment and announced publicly that Taylor was charged with war crimes. The indictment asserted that Taylor created and backed the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone, who were accused of a range of atrocities, including the use of child soldiers.^[24] The Prosecutor also said that Taylor's administration had harbored members of Al-Qaeda sought in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.^[25]

The indictment was unsealed during Taylor's official visit to Ghana, where he was participating in peace talks with MODEL and LURD officials. With the backing of the then-South African president Thabo Mbeki and against the urging of Sierra Leone president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Ghana declined to detain Taylor, who returned to Monrovia.

Resignation[link]

During his absence for the peace talks in Ghana, it was alleged that the U.S. government urged Vice President Moses Blah to seize power.^[26] Upon his return, Taylor briefly dismissed Blah from his post, only to reinstate him a few days later.

In July 2003, LURD initiated a siege of Monrovia, and several bloody battles were fought as Taylor's forces halted rebel attempts to capture the city. The pressure on Taylor increased further as U.S. President George W. Bush stated that Taylor "must leave Liberia" twice that month. On 9 July, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered Taylor exile in his country on the condition that Taylor stay out of Liberian politics.^[27]

Taylor insisted that he would resign only if U.S. peacekeeping troops were deployed to Liberia. Bush publicly called upon Taylor to resign and leave the country in order for any American involvement to be considered. Meanwhile, several African states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the leadership of Nigeria, sent troops under the banner of ECOMIL to Liberia.^[28] Logistical support was provided by a California company called PAE Government Services Inc., which was given a $10 million contract by the U.S. State Department.^[28] On 6 August, a 32-member U.S. military assessment team were deployed as a liaison with the ECOWAS troops.^[29]

On 10 August, Taylor appeared on national television to announce that he would resign the following day and hand power to Vice President Blah. He harshly criticized the United States in his farewell address, saying that the Bush administration's insistence that he leave the country would hurt Liberia.^[1]

On 11 August, Taylor resigned, with Blah serving as president until a transitional government was established on 14 October. At the handover were Ghanaian President John Kufuor, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, all representing African regional councils. The U.S. brought Joint Task Force Liberia's Amphibious Ready Group of three warships with 2,300 Marines into view of the coast. Taylor then flew to Nigeria, where the Nigerian government provided houses for him and his entourage in Calabar.

Exile[link]

In November 2003, the United States Congress passed a bill that included a reward offer of two million dollars for Taylor's capture. While the peace agreement had guaranteed Taylor safe exile in Nigeria, it also required that he not attempt to influence Liberian politics, a requirement that his critics claimed he disregarded. On 4 December, Interpol issued a red notice regarding Taylor, suggesting that countries had a duty to arrest him. Taylor was placed on Interpol's Most Wanted list, declaring him wanted for crimes against humanity and breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention, and noting that he should be considered dangerous. Nigeria stated it would not submit to Interpol's demands, agreeing only to deliver Taylor to Liberia in the event that the President of Liberia requested his return.

On 17 March 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the newly elected President of Liberia, submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition. This request was granted on 25 March, whereby Nigeria agreed to release Taylor to stand trial in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Nigeria agreed only to release Taylor and not to extradite him, as no extradition treaty existed between the two countries.

Disappearance and arrest[link]

Three days after Nigeria announced its intent to hand him over to Liberia, Taylor disappeared from the seaside villa where he had been living in exile.^[30] One week prior to his disappearance, Nigerian authorities had taken the unusual step of allowing local press to accompany census takers into Taylor’s seaside Calabar compound.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was scheduled to meet with President Bush less than 48 hours after Taylor was reported missing. Speculation ensued that Bush would refuse to meet with Obasanjo if Taylor were not apprehended. Less than 12 hours prior to the scheduled meeting between the two heads of state, Taylor was reported apprehended and en route to Liberia.

On 29 March, Taylor tried to cross the border into Cameroon through the border town of Gamboru in northeastern Nigeria. His Range Rover with Nigerian diplomatic plates was stopped by border guards, and Taylor's identity was eventually established. State Department staff later reported that significant amounts of cash and heroin were found in the vehicle.

Upon his arrival at Roberts International Airport in Harbel, Liberia, Taylor was arrested and handcuffed by LNP officers, who then immediately transferred responsibility for the custody of Taylor to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Irish UNMIL soldiers then escorted Taylor aboard a UN helicopter to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was delivered to the SCSL.

Trial[link]

Newsboard documenting the Charles Taylor case.

The SCSL prosecutor originally indicted Taylor on 3 March 2003 on a 17 count indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in Sierra Leone. On 16 March 2006, a SCSL judge gave leave to amend the indictment against Taylor. Under the amended indictment, Taylor was charged with 11 counts. At Taylor's initial appearance before the court on 3 April 2006, he entered a plea of not guilty.^[31]

In early June 2006, the decision on whether to hold Taylor's trial in Freetown or in The Hague had not yet been made by the new SCSL president, George Gelaga King. King's predecessor had pushed for the trial to be held abroad because of fear that a local trial would be politically destabilizing in an area where Taylor still had influence.^[2] The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court dismissed a motion by Taylor's defense team, who argued that their client could not get a fair trial there and also wanted the Special Court to withdraw the request to move the trial to The Hague.^[32][33]

On 15 June 2006, the British government agreed to jail Taylor in the United Kingdom in the event that he is convicted by the SCSL. This fulfilled a condition laid down by the Dutch government, who had stated they were willing to host the trial but would not jail him if convicted. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett stated that new legislation would be required to accommodate this arrangement.^[34] While awaiting his extradition to the Netherlands, Taylor was held in a UN jail in Freetown.^[35]

On 16 June 2006, the United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to allow Taylor to be sent to The Hague for trial; on 20 June 2006, Taylor was extradited and flown to Rotterdam Airport in the Netherlands. He was taken into custody and held in the detention centre of the International Criminal Court, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague.^[36] The Association for the Legal Defense of Charles G. Taylor was established in June 2006 to assist in his legal defense.

When Taylor's trial opened 4 June 2007, Taylor boycotted the proceeding and was not present. Through a letter which was read by his attorney to the court, he justified his absence by alleging that at that moment he was not ensured a fair and impartial trial.^[37]

On 20 August 2007, Taylor's defense now led by Courtenay Griffiths obtained a postponement of the trial until 7 January 2008.^[38] During the trial, the chief prosecutor alleged that a key insider witness who testified against Taylor went into hiding after being threatened for giving evidence against Taylor.^[39] Furthermore, Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah, a former military commander, testified that Charles Taylor celebrated his new-found status during the civil war by ordering human sacrifice, including the killings of Taylor's opponents and allies that were perceived to have betrayed Taylor, and by having a pregnant woman buried alive in sand.^[40] Marzah also accused Taylor of forcing cannibalism on his soldiers in order to terrorize their enemies.^[41]

In January 2009, the prosecution finished presenting its evidence against Taylor and closed its case on 27 February 2009. On 4 May 2009, a defense motion for a judgment on acquittal was dismissed, and arguments for Taylor's defense began in July 2009.^[42] Taylor testified in his own defense from July through November 2009.^[43] The defense rested its case on 12 November 2010, with closing arguments set for early February 2011.^[44]

On 8 February 2011, the trial court ruled in a 2–1 decision that it would not accept Taylor's trial summary, as the summary had not been submitted by 14 January deadline. In response, Taylor and his counsel boycotted the trial and refused an order by the court to begin closing arguments. This boycott came soon after the 2010 leak of American diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, in which the United States discussed the possibility of extraditing Taylor for prosecution in the United States in the event of his acquittal by the SCSL. Taylor's counsel cited the leaked cable and the court's decision as evidence of an international conspiracy against Taylor.^[45]

On 3 March, the appeals court of the SCSL overturned the trial court's decision, ruling that as the trial court had not established that Taylor had been counseled by the court and personally indicated his intent to waive his right to a trial summary, Taylor's due process rights would be violated by preventing him from submitting a trial summary. The appeals court ordered the trial court to accept the summary and set a date for the beginning of closing arguments.^[46] On 11 March, the closing arguments ended and it was announced that the court would begin the process to reach a verdict.^[47]

Verdict[link]

The verdict was announced in The Hague on 26 April 2012.^[48] The SCSL unanimously ruled that he was guilty of all 11 counts of "aiding and abetting" war crimes and crimes against humanity.^[49] Taylor was convicted of the following 11 charges:^[50]

At his trial, Taylor claimed that he was a victim, denied the charges and compared his actions of torture and crimes against humanity to the actions of George W. Bush in the War on Terror.^[51] Sentencing hearings commenced on 3 May^[52] and were announced on 30 May. Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison.^[53]

Sierra Leone's government described the sentence as "a step forward as justice has been done, though the magnitude of the sentence is not commensurate with the atrocities committed".^[49]

Family[link]

In 1997, Taylor married Jewel Taylor, with whom he has one son. She filed for divorce in 2005, citing her husband's exile in Nigeria and the difficulty of visiting him due to a UN travel ban on her.^[54] The divorce was granted in 2006. Jewel Taylor currently serves as the senior senator from Bong County.

Phillip Taylor, Taylor's son with Jewel, remained in Liberia following his father's extradition to the SCSL. He was arrested by Liberian police officials on 5 March 2011 and charged with attempted murder in connection with an assault on the son of an immigration officer who had assisted in Charles Taylor's extradition. At the time of his arrest, he had been attempting to cross the border into Côte d'Ivoire.^[55]

Taylor has another son, a U.S. citizen named Charles McArther Emmanuel, born to his college girlfriend. Emmanuel was arrested in 2006 after entering the US and was charged with three counts, including participation in torture while serving in the Anti-Terrorist Unit in Liberia during his father's presidency. The law that prosecuted Taylor was put in place in 1994, before "extraordinary rendition" in an attempt to prevent US citizens from committing acts of torture overseas. To date, this is the only prosecuted case.^[56] In October 2008, Emmanuel was convicted on all three counts and sentenced to 97 years in prison.^[57]

In popular culture[link]

The character Andre Baptiste, Sr. from the movie Lord of War is partially based on Taylor.^[58] Taylor is a prominent character in the 2004 novel The Darling by Russell Banks.

Taylor appears in the 2008 documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Huband, Mark (1998). The Liberian Civil War. London: F. Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4340-8. 

External links[link]

• Trial proceedings are available directly from: the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone
• BBC profile of Charles Taylor
• Charles Taylor legal news and resources, JURIST
• Handing Over Charles Taylor: It's Time, JURIST (op-ed by David Crane, former Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone who signed the indictment for Charles Taylor)
• Nigeria agrees to hand Taylor over to Liberia
• "Charles Taylor: A wanted man", CNN, 29 March 2006.
• Special Court for Sierra Leone
• The trial of Charles Taylor – TRIAL WATCH
• Charles Taylor on Trial U.S. Institute of Peace, 7 April 2006 (Audio)
• 10 Fascinating Things About Charles Taylor by The Young Turks

v t e Presidents of Liberia Joseph J. Roberts · Stephen Allen Benson · Daniel Bashiel Warner · James Spriggs Payne · Edward J. Roye · James Skivring Smith · Joseph J. Roberts · James Spriggs Payne · Anthony W. Gardiner · Alfred Francis Russell · Hilary R. W. Johnson · Joseph James Cheeseman · William D. Coleman · Garretson W. Gibson · Arthur Barclay · Daniel Edward Howard · Charles D. B. King · Edwin Barclay · William Tubman · William R. Tolbert, Jr. · Samuel Doe · Amos Sawyer · David D. Kpormakpor · Wilton G. S. Sankawulo · Ruth Perry · Charles G. Taylor · Moses Blah · Gyude Bryant · Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Non-presidential heads of state shown in italics

Republic of Liberia
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: The love of liberty brought us here
Anthem:  "All Hail, Liberia, Hail!"
Location of Liberia within the African Union
Capital (and largest city)		Monrovia 6°19′N 10°48′W / 6.317°N 10.8°W / 6.317; -10.8
Official language(s)		English
Ethnic groups (2008)		Kpelle 20.3% Bassa 13.4% Grebo 10% Gio 8% Mano 7.9% Kru 6% Lorma 5.1% Kissi 4.8% Gola 4.4% other 20.1%
Demonym		Liberian
Government		Unitary presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
-	Vice President	Joseph Boakai
-	Speaker of the House	Alex J. Tyler
-	Chief Justice	Johnnie Lewis
Legislature		Legislature of Liberia
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	House of Representatives
Establishment
-	Established by the American Colonization Society	1822
-	Independence	26 July 1847
-	Current constitution	6 January 1986
Area
-	Total	111,369 km2 (103rd) 43,000 sq mi
-	Water (%)	13.514
Population
-	2011 estimate	3,786,764[1]
-	2008 census	3,476,608 (130th)
-	Density	35.5/km2 (180th) 92.0/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.769 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$456[2]
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.154 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$297[2]
HDI (2011)		0.329 (low) (182nd)
Currency		Liberian dollar1 (LRD)
Time zone		GMT
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		LR
Internet TLD		.lr
Calling code		231
1 United States dollar also legal tender.

Liberia ⁱ/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km² (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.

Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.

The country began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United States during World War II and economic liberalization under President William Tubman. Liberia was a founding member of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. A military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership in 1980, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars that left approximately 250,000 people dead and devastated the country's economy. A 2003 peace deal led to democratic elections in 2005. Today, Liberia is recovering from the lingering effects of the civil war and related economic dislocation, with about 85% of the population living below the international poverty line.

History[link]

European map of the Pepper Coast, 1736

The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century, perhaps earlier. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward towards the Atlantic ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest recorded arrivals.^[3] This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and later in 1591 with the Songhai Empire. Additionally, inland regions underwent desertification, and inhabitants were pressured to move to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai Empires.^[4] Shortly after the Manes conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Manes to stop further influx of Vai.

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Between 1461 and late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area Costa da Pimenta, meaning Pepper Coast but later translated as Grain Coast, because of the abundance of grains of melegueta pepper. European traders would barter various commodities and goods with local people. When the Kru began trading with Europeans, they initially traded in commodities, but later they actively participated in the African slave trade.

In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed American slaves.^[5] The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Henry Clay and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves.^[6] Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which created the independent Republic of Liberia.^[7][8]

President Edwin Barclay (right) and President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, 1943

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians. The 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes.^[7] In 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party was the most powerful political power in the country.^[9] Competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election.^[9] Pressure from the United Kingdom and France led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories, which were annexed by adjoining countries.^[10] Economic development was hindered by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late 19th century and by indebtedness on a series of international loans.^[11] In Liberia's early years, the Americo-Liberian settlers periodically encountered stiff and sometimes violent opposition from indigenous Africans who were excluded from citizenship until 1904.^[12]

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. Both the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport were built by U.S. personnel through the Lend-Lease program during World War II.^[13] President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country, resulting in the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.^[13] Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the South African apartheid regime.^[14] Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, helping to found the Organization of African Unity.^[15]

Samuel Doe with Caspar Weinberger on a 1982 visit to the United States

On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members.^[16] The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country.^[16] A strategic Cold War ally, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.^[16] After the country adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent.^[16] On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.^[17] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops executed members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.^[17]

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, triggering the First Liberian Civil War.^[18] By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed that month by rebel forces.^[19] The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another, and the Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis.^[19] From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars ensued, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.^[12] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995 leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.^[19]

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to his use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.^[20] The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.^[21] In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.^[21] Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity that same month.^[20] By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia.^[22] Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,^[23] Taylor resigned in August and went into exile in Nigeria,^[24] and a peace deal was signed later that month.^[25] The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,^[26] and an interim government took power the following October.^[27]

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.^[28] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.^[28] Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and immediately handed him over to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.^[29][30] In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.^[31]

Politics[link]

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government: executive, headed by the president; legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and judicial, made up of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.

The president serves as head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.^[1] Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office.^[1]

The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members.^[1] Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by a plurality of the popular vote of their district in to a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators.^[1] Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote .^[1] The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in his absence.

Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts and justices of the peace.^[32] The judicial system follows the Anglo-American common law.^[33] An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed.^[32]

Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.^[9] Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.^[28] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity.^[28] The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.^[28]

Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[34] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.^[35] When seeking attention of a selection of service providers 89% of Liberians had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.^[36]

Counties and districts[link]

View of a lake in Bomi County

Liberia is divided into 15 counties, which are subdivided into districts, and further subdivided into clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at 4,460 square miles (11,551 km²), while Montserrado is the smallest at 737 square miles (1,909 km²).^[37] Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.^[37]

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of mayors and various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.^[38] In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the president to appoint mayors until the country could afford to hold municipal elections.^[38]

Geography[link]

Map of Liberia

Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.

The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.^[39] Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.^[39] The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.^[39] During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.^[39]

Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation.^[39] The country's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River.^[39] Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at 320 miles (515 km).^[39]

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 4,724 feet (1,440 m) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands.^[39] However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa, is higher at 5,748 feet (1,752 m) above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and is their tallest mountain as well.^[40]

Economy[link]

Boy grinding sugar cane.

Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of only 15%.^[32] GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's.^[41] In 2010, the country's nominal GDP was US$974 million, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$226, the third-lowest in the world.^[2] Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber and timber.^[39]

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup.^[42] This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history.^[42] Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.^[43] The global financial crisis slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,^[43] though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world.^[44][45] Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy.^[44] Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar.^[46] Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,^[47] reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.^[43] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.^[42] As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007–2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.^[48]

While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.^[49] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.^[50] This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.^[51] In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone.^[52][53] These sanctions were lifted in 2006.^[54] Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008.^[44] Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.^[55]

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006.^[45] Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, the country signed several multi-billion dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby.^[56] The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926.^[57] Liberia has also begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.^[58] The government divided its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007 and 2009.^[59][60][61] An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.^[62] Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.^[63]

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, the country has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama, with 3,500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.^[64][65]

Infrastructure[link]

This section requires expansion.

Demographics[link]

Street in downtown Monrovia

As of the 2008 national census, Liberia was home to 3,476,608 people.^[66] Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia, with the Greater Monrovia district home to 970,824 people.^[66] Nimba County is the next most populous county with 462,026 residents.^[66] As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county headquarters combined.^[37] Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.^[66] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.^[37] As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum). Similar to its neighbors, it has a large youth population, with half of the population under the age of 18.

The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95% of the population, the largest of which are the Kpelle in central and western Liberia. Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African-American settlers, make up 2.5%, and Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.^[1][67] There is also a sizable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. A small minority of Liberians of European descent reside in the country.^[1] The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to only people of black African descent.^[68]

31 indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which are a first language to more than a small percentage of the population.^[69] English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of the country.^[70] Liberians speak a variety of dialects collectively known as Liberian English.^[70]

Largest cities[link]

Education[link]

Students studying by candlelight in Bong County, Liberia

In 2009, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 59.1% (63.7% for males and 54.5% for females).^[71] Primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6-16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.^[72] On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls).^[1] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.^[73]

Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862 and today has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.^[74] In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County became the second public university in Liberia.^[75] Cuttington University, established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, is the nation's oldest private university. Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.^[76][77][78]

Religion[link]

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by .5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist. Concurrent participation in indigenous religious secret societies such as Poro and Sande is common, with some Sande societies practicing female genital mutilation.^[79]

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right.^[79] While separation of church and state is also mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a de facto Christian state.^[28] Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt out their children. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.^[79]

Health[link]

Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.^[80] With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.^[81] A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 ^[82] whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.^[83] Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.^[84] In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished.^[85] In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.^[86]

Civil war strife ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.^[87] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,^[88] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.^[89] In 2008, Liberia had only 1 doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.^[83]

Culture[link]

The former Executive Mansion, an example of American South architectural influence.

The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.^[90] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.^[91]

Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,^[92] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.^[93]

A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors.^[94] Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.^[95]

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.^[96] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu.^[97] Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.^[98]

Measurement system[link]

Liberia is one of only three countries, along with the United States and Burma, that does not officially use the International System of Units.^[99] The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system.^[100] However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units.^[101][102] A 2008 report from the University of Tennessee stated that the changeover from imperial to metric measures was confusing to coffee and cocoa farmers.^[100]

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Africa portal
	Liberia portal

• Outline of Liberia
• Index of Liberia-related articles
• Foreign relations of Liberia

References[link]